The Morning After
Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 10:20 am
I wake up one morning with my senses being brutally assaulted; the sound of running water is so unusual it’s almost unsettling. The refreshing scent of mint toothpaste lingering in the air beckons my sense of smell to come to life. I get up and rub my eyes to see the blurry sight of Hanako leaving the bathroom. Having just brushed her teeth and washed her face, she has her hair tied up and is in only her underwear.
“Good morning!”
She says with a beaming smile which proves to be quite infectious.
“Good morning, beautiful”
It’s almost comical how the mere mention of the word beautiful still manages to make her start blushing heavily, turn to her side, and start fidgeting with her hands. I find it so irresistibly cute that it brings about a warm feeling in my chest.
A year has passed since we've graduated from Yamaku; a year of being blessed with seeing her gorgeous face every time I woke up. We both ended up applying to the same college in the town near Yamaku, the setting was so relaxed in this part of Japan we decided to rent a studio here. At first Hanako was hesitant to the idea of moving in together but as we grew closer she became more and more comfortable with it.
I lazily groan as I make my way from my bed to the bathroom. A quick look at the mirror and the first thing I notice is how messed up my hair is. After numerous attempts at fixing it I end up grimacing and rustling it around a bit after giving up. As I start to brush my teeth I hear Hanako call out to me.
“Hey Hisao, how about we go out for breakfast?”
“Sure thing, what did you have in mind?”
“How about the Shanghai? We still have enough time to grab a cup of tea and a couple of sandwiches and make it back in time for class”
“Sounds good to me.”
I take a look back at the mirror, this time at my chin. I remember that Hanako saying something about my stubble tickling her face after we kissed last night. After closer inspection I see that it’s grown a fair bit longer than I’d usually let it. I reach for my razor and can of shaving cream and start to shake the can before noticing Hanako standing at the entrance of the bathroom.
“I-I just w-wanted to watch.”
She slowly starts to back away with a guilty expression as though she’s done something wrong, but before she can get away I halt her retreat.
“You know, I could use a hand here.”
Hanako looks at me with surprised eyes before gingerly taking the can of shaving cream out of my outstretched hand. I pull the bath stool over and take a seat, Hanako gets down on her knees and faces me; a look of uncertainty plastered on her face. Squeezing on the cap of the can, she lets out a little shaving cream onto her free hand. Slowly she starts to shuffle her body closer to mine, her hands up to my cheeks and gently starts to move her hands. Her movements slow and tender, the sensation is so different from when I do it, it’s almost soothing. After noticing that I've been staring at her this whole time she pecks the tip of my nose with her index finger, leaving a spot of shaving cream.
“Hey!”
I wipe my own index finger along my jawline, gathering a bit of shaving cream before wiping it on her nose.
“Hey!”
She pouts and sticks her tongue out at me
“You’re a meanie.”
“You started it!”
She lets out a small giggle and simply shrugs, before tending to the damages I had made to the otherwise perfect job she’s done. After she’s satisfied with her work she retracts her hands from my face, reaches over to the sink to grabs the razor; her hands trembling from the moment she picks it up.
“Y-you know, m-maybe this isn't such a good idea. What if I h-hurt you?”
I give her a reassuring smile and take her empty hand in mine.
“Don’t worry, you can do this.”
Upon hearing those words she takes a deep breath to calm her nerves before placing the razor on my cheek and slowly gliding it downwards, and repeating the process in equally delicate and disciplined strokes. After a short while I notice that she’s concentrating so hard she doesn't notice her tongue sticking out of her mouth. I fail to stifle a chuckle at the sight.
“S-stay still.”
Her tone is slightly less playful than before.
“Yes ma’am.”
A few strokes later she freezes in place to assess her handy work. She takes a step back, grabs a towel, and wipes off any excess shaving cream.
“All done.”
I look in the mirror to admire her work, she definitely won’t be setting any world speed records but she’s done an impressive job without cutting me.
“You are all sorts of amazing you know that?
She gives an earnest smile and moves in to gives me a quick kiss.
“Not so tickly anymore, are we?”
“Good morning!”
She says with a beaming smile which proves to be quite infectious.
“Good morning, beautiful”
It’s almost comical how the mere mention of the word beautiful still manages to make her start blushing heavily, turn to her side, and start fidgeting with her hands. I find it so irresistibly cute that it brings about a warm feeling in my chest.
A year has passed since we've graduated from Yamaku; a year of being blessed with seeing her gorgeous face every time I woke up. We both ended up applying to the same college in the town near Yamaku, the setting was so relaxed in this part of Japan we decided to rent a studio here. At first Hanako was hesitant to the idea of moving in together but as we grew closer she became more and more comfortable with it.
I lazily groan as I make my way from my bed to the bathroom. A quick look at the mirror and the first thing I notice is how messed up my hair is. After numerous attempts at fixing it I end up grimacing and rustling it around a bit after giving up. As I start to brush my teeth I hear Hanako call out to me.
“Hey Hisao, how about we go out for breakfast?”
“Sure thing, what did you have in mind?”
“How about the Shanghai? We still have enough time to grab a cup of tea and a couple of sandwiches and make it back in time for class”
“Sounds good to me.”
I take a look back at the mirror, this time at my chin. I remember that Hanako saying something about my stubble tickling her face after we kissed last night. After closer inspection I see that it’s grown a fair bit longer than I’d usually let it. I reach for my razor and can of shaving cream and start to shake the can before noticing Hanako standing at the entrance of the bathroom.
“I-I just w-wanted to watch.”
She slowly starts to back away with a guilty expression as though she’s done something wrong, but before she can get away I halt her retreat.
“You know, I could use a hand here.”
Hanako looks at me with surprised eyes before gingerly taking the can of shaving cream out of my outstretched hand. I pull the bath stool over and take a seat, Hanako gets down on her knees and faces me; a look of uncertainty plastered on her face. Squeezing on the cap of the can, she lets out a little shaving cream onto her free hand. Slowly she starts to shuffle her body closer to mine, her hands up to my cheeks and gently starts to move her hands. Her movements slow and tender, the sensation is so different from when I do it, it’s almost soothing. After noticing that I've been staring at her this whole time she pecks the tip of my nose with her index finger, leaving a spot of shaving cream.
“Hey!”
I wipe my own index finger along my jawline, gathering a bit of shaving cream before wiping it on her nose.
“Hey!”
She pouts and sticks her tongue out at me
“You’re a meanie.”
“You started it!”
She lets out a small giggle and simply shrugs, before tending to the damages I had made to the otherwise perfect job she’s done. After she’s satisfied with her work she retracts her hands from my face, reaches over to the sink to grabs the razor; her hands trembling from the moment she picks it up.
“Y-you know, m-maybe this isn't such a good idea. What if I h-hurt you?”
I give her a reassuring smile and take her empty hand in mine.
“Don’t worry, you can do this.”
Upon hearing those words she takes a deep breath to calm her nerves before placing the razor on my cheek and slowly gliding it downwards, and repeating the process in equally delicate and disciplined strokes. After a short while I notice that she’s concentrating so hard she doesn't notice her tongue sticking out of her mouth. I fail to stifle a chuckle at the sight.
“S-stay still.”
Her tone is slightly less playful than before.
“Yes ma’am.”
A few strokes later she freezes in place to assess her handy work. She takes a step back, grabs a towel, and wipes off any excess shaving cream.
“All done.”
I look in the mirror to admire her work, she definitely won’t be setting any world speed records but she’s done an impressive job without cutting me.
“You are all sorts of amazing you know that?
She gives an earnest smile and moves in to gives me a quick kiss.
“Not so tickly anymore, are we?”